m & n

[Thomas Paikeday]

Has anyone heard "Guantanamo" pronounced as "Guantamano"? I thouhgt I heard
it thrice last week  (not a slip of the tongue, meseems) from Bob Hunter (of
CityTV, Toronto), a well-known reporter and commentator. Which reminds me of
Carl Sagan (I may be trying to out-Ripley Ripley, but Bob seems in good
company) saying "anemone" as "amenome". I was too young at that time to be
suspected of Alzheimer's.

QUESTION TO PHONETICIANS: Is this something like metathesis as in the
commonly heard "aks" for "ask" with a vowel thrown in between the consonants
in question? If so, what do you call it and do you have other examples? Easy
answers may be transposition of sounds as in "slow and sneet" instead of
"sleet and snow," phonetic resemblance (?) between m & n, etc. But I am
looking for something better.

Thanks.

TOM PAIKEDAY
www.paikeday.net



> To ADS members and friends:
>
> You know we're meeting in what local columnist Herb Caen used to call
> "Baghdad-by-the Bay" in January 2005. If that placename needs translation,
go to the
> news section of our website for straightforward information:
>
> http://americandialect.org/news.html
>
> This is to remind you that the deadline for proposals for that meeting is
> coming soon: Monday, August 16. But here is a SPECIAL OFFER: the deadline
has
> been extended to Friday, August 20!
>
> You will find particulars about proposals on that web page. Briefly,
though,
> you should send them to me at
>
> AAllan at aol.com
>
> and that's the address for questions and inquiries too. After the
deadline,
> the program committee, chaired by ADS VP Joan Hall of DARE (how's that for
> acronymania?), will select and arrange the schedule, and you'll get their
decision
> in September.
>
> If you've been waiting for this announcement in the Newsletter of the
> American Dialect Society, don't. Regrettably, I haven't produced an issue
since May
> 2003. I do hope to have one for September once the program has been
determined.
> Meanwhile, though, look at our fine website for news.
>
> Best wishes - Allan Metcalf, ADS executive secretary